You can save a lot of weight if lets say your installing a solid state drive or putting in a second hard drive but if you know that you use the CD/DVD disc drive a lot then you might just want to leave the drive alone.

Also wondering how much weight I'd save by just removing. My drive is broken for ages, but I have not needed it in ages. The HD was already replaced by a cheap SSD (second best thing after upgrading to 8GB), so I'd appreciate losing some weight. I mean, the computer. Although I could lose some too... erm... well, anyway, I guess the lack of the DVD would not interfere with anything, right? Opinions?

The issue is not one of weight but an issue with the systems cooling and an opening which objects could enter. For a few grams of weight I don’t think its worth it! A better solution would be to swap out the heaver HD for a much lighter SSD, and getting all of the performance benefits of the faster drive as well!

While you might not think it the optical drive also acts as a stiffener so there is less twist in the case. This is because of the size of the hole for the DVD/CD’s so taking it out weakens the case design.

this website is amazing. I read it to guide me on fixing my mac book pro, but on the video, the girl gives a wrong information.. She says that is not possible replace just the keyboard... But I managed to replace only my keyboard. It is boring because I have to remove approximately 70 screws but it is possible. Thanks a lot! You guys helped me save about US$300 thats because in Brazil some technicians would charge me with that amount!

Tip: Use one of those weekday pill holders to have a cheep way to store screws you remove and each day of the week can be for different sizes or parts. It has been handy to have (much less expensive than the magnetic mat.

Totally agree!! I used the #00 screwhead for 7 out of the 10, but for the remaining tricky ones I used the #0 screwhead and it helped me out. I was so worried I would strip the tiny screw, but this comment saved me!

Just want to say that this site is a great resource for repairing or upgrading your Mac. I had a bad SATA cable in my MacBook Pro and after ordering a new one from the "IFIXIT" site I received the cable within two days, replaced it and was up and running again in no time. Thanks IFIXIT for you help!

I have found that my MacBook Pro 13 Late 2011 has five shouldered screws and not four. I am not sure exactly where it goes but I have put it in the top left corner of the picture as it is the odd one out.

I found with mine that the shouldered and un-shouldered screws were reversed (the three un-shouldered screws going where the orange colour indicates). Also, I found that the front four screws went in at an angle.

I used 3 eggcups to hold the screws ;>) They are very fiddly and easy to drop on floor so keep the MacBook away from the edge of the surface you are using to avoid accidentally dropping a screw off the edge of a table, etc.

Since you’ll be removing many screws it’s best to plan ahead. I found it especially helpful to have a small plastic tray with about a dozen separate compartments to hold screws. As I removed screws I kept them in one compartment for each item removed. For example: The lower case removal involves the removal of ten screws. I kept them all in the first tray compartment and set the lid aside. Also, I put a post-it note identifying this compartment as “Lower case” and noted that the top right-most screws were the long ones. I continued with this methodology as a removed the next item, and the next, etc. Disassembly notes included for each compartment. This helped SIGNIFICANTLY as I was able to reassemble the Macbook easily by simply going from one compartment to the next (in reverse order). This guide is rated “Difficult” which it really isn’t when you plan ahead in this way. It saves time in the long run.

when putting the macbook pro back together, the middle screw on the right side (if the computer is upside down and you have the hinge furthest away from you) requires a bracket that was not included with my new upper case. i had to remove it from my old case and transfer it over - if you don’t do this, that screw will have nothing to attach to.

this was one of the many additional parts i needed to transfer from my old case to the new one that aren’t mentioned in this guide…i’m adding comments on each step to try to help others…i wish i had thought to take pictures.

The screws used on all Retina models, as well as about everything Apple has made since the iPhone 4, uses “PENTALOBULAR” not Phillips screws. These look like a TORX driver, but it has 5 concave sides. I believe the size you want is a P4 or T4. (1.2mm).

If you are following this guide to upgrade to a better drive and want to keep your system and data intact I highly recommend first following the guide to Clone an Existing Drive using the recommended free SuperDuper!. That process was a breeze and gives you confidence that the new drive will come up looking exactly the way it did when you started.

My top tip - make sure you buy good quality Phillips screwdrivers and a magnetic holder. Cheap screwdrivers won’t get the screws undone safely. Without a magnetic holder you have no chance of getting the tiny crews in and out safely.

Did you properly ground yourself to the case before putting the spudger to the connector/logic board? Did you use a spudger or something else that is non conductive...or did you use a flat blade metal screw driver instead and compound your error by not grounding yourself before touching the logic board? All kinds of variables here but the bottom line is iFixit provided you a guide to fix your computer. Lots of others have followed this guide without trouble. Your battery issues are not their fault. They did say this guide was moderate difficulty...maybe it's just a little beyond your skill level. We should all know our limits!

Rather than be careful of the corners of the connector i would say don't use the spudger anywhere near the corners. While the corner looks like the obvious place to begin to pry it up from, it will break. Levering from the sides as the instructions suggest works well.

Don't know what the deal is with the battery, but this IS a necessary step to keep from frying the logic Board if you accidentally touch something and short it out. I did this step every time during my troubleshooting and The battery was ALWAYS recognized by the system the next time I turned the MBP on. So be safe and don't fry your logic board in the process...

Prying the battery connector off does not take much force. I did exactly what the guide suggested (walked it off back and forth) with the spudger without any problems. Just be very gentle, much like with anything inside laptops, they are very fragile and need to be worked with carefully. A+ instructions, battery replacement was a success.

Installed/upgraded 4gb RAM to the system maximum 16gb and installed a 500 gb SSD today....DID NOT disconnect the battery cable....no issues at all when I powered back up. Then did a clean install of OSX Yosemite....next I used a time machine backup to put all my stuff back on the new HD. From start to finish it took about 4 hours. Macbook boots up right at 16 seconds now.

Its a lot easier and safer (corner wise) to pry it using the flat side of the black spudger directly in front of the connector (don't go/use the corners) very easily you will be able to pry it further by inserting the spudger into a better and thicker plastic section of the connector

DON'T remove the Battery Cable, you risk the battery NOT being recognised when you start the Mac up again, or breaking it!! More to the point, APPLE DOES NOT RECOMMEND THIS, so don't do it! I Installed 2x 8GB ( 16Gb total) of Crucial Mac RAM at 1333Mhz for my Late 2011 MacBook Pro, and it works beautifully, fully recognised and working well. I followed these instructions, but as Apple didnt recommend disconnecting the battery, I skipped this step, and as well as taking less time, nothing was damaged or broken, and everything works perfectly!!! Just make sure that you DISCHARGE ALL STATIC ELECTRICITY FROM YOUR HANDS, by touching a metal surface in the Mac. Apple recommends the edge of the Optical Disk Drive ( Big silver thing ) before touching any parts. Also, Take care removing the RAM out of its packet, DO NOT touch the Gold connectors, and hold the RAM by the edges. Finally, be PATIENT, GENTLE and it should all go perfectly. I managed it first time, with no technical ability, so follow my advice. Good luck!

This comment made me think that disconnecting the battery was no point at all, because really - how would the computer be able to switch on by it self. So... I had my mac flipped around and was fiddling with the last part of the guide when I all of a sudden hear the start up sound! Don't know how and why it did. I turned it around with it guts open and guts hanging out. Screen was on. I forced it to shut down by keeping the power button down. Turned it back and first thing removed the battery cord.

Luckily the computer started up just like normal. But hearing that sound was just too scary.

I removed the battery cable for the repair. When I plugged in the MagSafe adapter after the repair, the Mac turned on automatically without pressing the power button and I was a bit worried, but after a restart everything worked fine again. I did have to reset date and time in Preferences. The battery was recognized OK.

I always do this when working on MacBooks (over ten years) and it never caused an issue. Don’t worry about this step as removal of the battery connector is simple. This particular connector is pretty much goof-proof as it won’t break. I’m fairly aggressive and just pop it off whenever I’m working on the Macbook Pro.

The guide worked perfectly, as it has in the past (our family has three Mid-2012 Macbook Pros that have been separately upgraded with RAM and SSD).

The PH00 screwdriver fit perfectly.

One note on getting the screws to seat easily and thread perfectly...always turn them gently a couple turns to the left (CCW or Anti-Clockwise) until you hear a small click. That's where the threads will grab. Works with any screw, but when threads are fine, this will help ensure that the screw is at the correct angle and will grab and seat perfectly.

One other note: The screw heads fit flush with the curvature of the case -- which means that they aren't exactly horizontal. In other words, they aren't perpendicular to the table that the computer is resting on. Don't try to force them straight in vertically, because you'll risk cross-threading them. (nearly ruined one screw hole myself!)

Reinserting the tiny screws was a pain, until I discovered this: initially turn them counterclockwise, till the threads 'agree' and the screw drops down into it's threded slot. Then go clockwise and they seat properly.

I just replaced the original hard drive on my mid 2012 MBP with a Crucial SSD from iFixit and am amazed at the new zip this has giving it! I first upgraded the RAM from 8 to 16 GB and that helped the speed but nothing like this new SSD, I found everything in this guide to be accurate for my computer. I did take the course of first cloning my original drive onto the SSD using the recommended SuperDuper! software, following the guide for that, and highly recommend taking that route.

Great instructions as usual. Once I removed the old drive I found a round black rubber part (like a nipple) that had a rim on one end. I looked and googled to no avail! So there is a oblong hole (looks like a female lightning port) through the side of the MacBook right where the HDD is. And on the inside of the Mac there is a black frame near that oblong hole with a perfect circle shaped hole that this black rubber part fits into. All done and back together. Then I recalled person that I bought it from worked at auto dealer and took it into the shop where a co-worker used a blow gun to clean it up before selling. I guess 90 PSI blew the rubber part out!! So if any one finds one, you will know where to put it back

The instructions are admirably clear and I successfully installed a 1TB Crucial SSD. However, it might be helpful to remark that the new drive MUST be formatted in APFS. Not knowing this, I formatted in HFS+ and loaded a Time Machine backup onto it. The new disk at first booted and then hung after the initial process had completed (the progress bar stayed on the screen). I only discovered the formatting problem when I wanted to clean install Mojave on the new HD. A day lost and a splitting headache later, everything is now up and running and LOTS faster!

I feel you should be pointing out a couple of things about the chassis screws that are not obvious to the inexperienced

- the 6 screws that are not along the hinge edge of the body (4 yellow & 2 of the orange) are not perpendicular to the flat surface; they go in at an angle such that their heads are flat in the curve in which they sit. Attempting to hold the screwdriver upright in these heads could lead to damage to the screws, stripping out the "cross"

- attempting to insert these screws "straight" when reassembling will lead to cross-threading and stripping the screw threads

I did this upgrade as instructed and everything went swimmingly. I used SuperDuper to clone the drive well before opening the mac and removing the original hard drive. I loved SuperDuper but there are also alternatives for cloning. The iFixit kit contains the proper tools too and it's a bargain though the drive can be had for much less elsewhere.

All went well. Entirely doable. I did the memory while I was in there too. So now have 16Gb and a 1TB SSD running! Couple of comments

1: Whoever suggested using a prescription pill day counter for screws was a genius. You should do that too. Telling the shouldered from the unsoldered 3.5mm Phillips 00 screws will drive you nuts otherwise

2: The recovery instructions are a bit old if you've been keeping you OSes up to date. If you have Yosemite or what not, you have had your firmware flashed. So just make a time machine backup on a USB drive; replace everything; and right after you power up, hold Apple-R (if you have WIFI) and it will boot. Use disk utility to partition the drive as bootable (macos journalled with guid), then plug in the USB time machine, and recover from that. Few hours later you are in business.

I did this with the iFixit provided 1TB SSD. It all went well. It's really an easy task, though it might seem daunting. Just don't "force it" with any of the delicate parts.

The restart of the computer was a little startling. I flipped open the laptop and bam, it started. Might have been an errant press on the power button.

Also, to reinstall, I used "Internet recovery" which worked perfectly, as building a thumb drive boot drive failed on me. Internet recovery saved my world. Took about 4 hours to restore 320G of data on my new drive.

HI, i tried to swap my data from the old hard drive to the new one, but on my mac book pro the disk utility programm does not open...there is something called a Festplattendienstprogramm, but it looks completely differs than the utility program.

How can i find this program on my early 2011 MacBook Pro bought in germany?

I tried to swap my hard drive on a new 1TB one, but the disk utility program does not open! It seems, that it s not existing on this early 2011 MacBook Pro bought in germany. There is a "Festplattendienstprogramm" but it looks completely different and does not have the possibility to swap the data...Any idea how to solve this? Thanx for help!

I went to the apple store and they stated that I needed a new hard drive. But, they noticed a water mark that was marked red and said that it voided the warranty and I would have needed to pay even more for them to replace the hard drive. So I bought the hard drive suggested by ifixit and replaced the hard drive. When i start my computer it stay at a apple sign with spinning wheel for a while. I pressed command option R to try to download the mac ox software but the hard drive does not put up under the disk utility screen in order to download it. HELP!

try holding option, command, p and r on boot up. It’s called clearing the NVRAM I think (might be wrong about that ?) the mac soundeffect will play once then twice then let go. This really helped me out with my 2011 MBP after it installed some updates and didn’t seem to be able to load back up.

Excellent guide. My daughter's MacBook Pro had stopped booting up and when she took it to the local Apple Store they recommended replacing the drive. I took the opportunity to upgrade to the 1TB hybrid drive. Easy replacement. I booted up and reinstalled MacOS Lion via WiFi and then upgraded to Sierra. Everything is working fine and now have 900+GB of free space!! Thanks iFixIt folks

This guide, in combination with the youtube video instructions and the youtube video about how to clone the hard drive, worked perfectly. I am now using my much faster and much less full macbook - and loving it! Thanks for all you guys and gals do!

I used this guide to swap out my harddrive with an ssd. My Macbook pro is amazing now! Boot times and loading times are a thing of the past, and Spotlight searches are instantaneous! I won't need a new laptop for quite some time! The swap is easy, I did the whole thing in under 20 minutes.

Anyone know how to do this with a hard drive that's already failed? I don't need to recover anything from it, I just need to get my daughter's 2011 Macbook Pro operational again. I don't think replacing the hard drive will be hard, what I don't understand is how do you get the Mac OS back on it?

I have an ealry 2011 MacBook Pro 13”. The computer just stopped working and I think the hard drive may need replacing since I dropped it and there is now a dent where the hard drive sits. I think I’ll replace it, but how do I get the operating system on it after replacing it? Some have suggested an OS Installer…not sure what that is. Please help! Thanks.